


The Phantom Queen

by vivvav



Category: Persona 4, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Gen, Makoto Niijima Week, superhero au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-23
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-01-04 11:25:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12167922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vivvav/pseuds/vivvav
Summary: Tokyo is the most populated city in the world. With over 38,000,000 people living there, the police department never has a moment to relax. But some criminals are more than the police can handle. And when they strike, the mysterious woman known as the Phantom Queen appears to save the day.Written for Makoto Niijima Week. The Bonus Day 8's prompt is "AU or Fashion/Style".





	1. Death of a Salesman

**Author's Note:**

> Not gonna link to the Makoto Niijima Week tumblr this time. You wanna find it, check any other story I've written this past week. I've got something else to plug instead:
> 
> I am participating in a fanzine, and so can you! It's called the "Crimson Compendium", and it's going to be a magazine full of P5 fics with accompanying illustrations. In addition to myself, we've also got Hureno (who had done all of the covers for my Makoto Week fics) and FlOrangey, as well as a few other people. We've got a site full of info for joining the project right here:
> 
> https://crimsoncomp.tumblr.com

**Art by[Hureno](http://hurenoshmureno.tumblr.com)**

* * *

 

The familiar sound of a motorcycle’s engine grew closer. Standing over the dead body in the alleyway off Central Street, Detective Goro Akechi groaned as the engine’s roar reached his ears. He turned to the police officers surrounding the scene.

“Ok you bums, clear out of the alley! I can’t think with all of your chattering!” Akechi pointed towards the alley’s entrance. “Give me some breathing room so I can do some REAL detective work!”

“Fuck you too, Detective Prettyboy!” A fat officer gave Akechi the finger as he and his comrades slowly left the crime scene.

“Just keep waddling, Akiyama!” Akechi lit a cigarette. “I don’t need the sweaty crumbs from your folds contaminating MY crime scene!”

The other officers laughed at their fat friend as they turned the corner.

“You should really learn to play nice with others, Detective.”

Costumed in her skintight blue outfit with her steel mask, long scarf, and spiked shoulder pads, the Phantom Queen dropped down into the alley from a fire escape.

“If the department ever hires somebody who can live up to my standards, I will.” Akechi took a drag of his cigarette. “’Til then, it’s just you ’n’ me, Phannie.”

“You know I don’t like being called that.” The Phantom Queen walked past Akechi, squatting down to take a look at the corpse on the street.

“Then you oughta change your outfit.” Akechi let his eyes linger on the mystery woman’s rear for a moment before returning his focus to the dead man. “The stiff’s name is ‘Munehisa Iwai’. Or, well, it was.”

“I’ve heard of him.” The Phantom Queen’s eyes focused on the gecko tattoo on his neck. “Ex-yakuza. Word on the street says he was the man to see if you wanted to get your hands on anything illegal. Especially weapons.”

“Well, I don’t know about real guns.” Akechi tilted his head to a store a few feet away with a sign reading ‘Untouchable’. “But this airsoft store was his. Poor bastard was bumped off right outside his own place of business. I figured it was probably a simple mugging or something, but-“

“This was no common mugging.” Iwai had a large stab wound in his back. Queen turned him onto his side to see a matching wound in his stomach. “He’s been completely run through. There’s no way it was some random punk’s switchblade that did it.”

“Yeah, I noticed that too.” Akechi took another drag from his cigarette. “You said he was ex-yakuza, right?”

“You think this was related?” Queen looked up at Akechi.

“Well, I don’t see any missing fingers. Which means that this guy probably didn’t leave his family in the proper manner.” Akechi mimicked a sword stabbing through the air with his cigarette. “I’m guessing his past finally caught up with him.”

“DETECTIVE!” Akiyama came running back into the alley, panting.

“Akiyama!?” Akechi looked from the fat officer to where the Phantom Queen had been to find his favorite vigilante had vanished into thin air. “Didn’t I tell you to get lost!?”

“Just got a call from HQ!” Akiyama doubled over. “A transport to Fuchu just got knocked over in Nerima!”

“What do you mean ‘knocked over’!?”

“There was some kinda explosion! A bunch of masks got loose!”

“Masks!?” Akechi threw his cigarette on the ground and stomped it out. “SHIT!”

The familiar sound of a motorcycle started up again, quickly disappearing into the distance.

* * *

Akira Kurusu stood on top of a truck with a camera, trying to get pictures of the scene from a unique vantage point. Just moments ago, he had been a few blocks away working on some dull ‘human interest’ piece about Okumura Foods opening a soup kitchen. And sure, it’s not like that was bad or anything, but Akira was so sick of writing articles about Haru Okumura. The fluffy-haired philanthropist had long overstayed her fifteen minutes of fame. Sure, the heiress who stabbed her abusive fiancé in self-defense made for front-page material seven years ago, but the pink-clad princess of patties just refused to leave the news cycle since with her constant charitable acts.

But then, the explosion happened. And where there was smoke, there were headlines. Akira hit the pavement fast as he could and made his way to the source of the commotion. There was a knocked over police convoy, debris all over the place, and half of the block was on fire. Down on the ground, everybody was running around and screaming, and the cops were desperately trying to assert some kind of order. This delivery truck was the perfect place to survey the scene from and hopefully take the pic that would make the front page of the morning edition.

Right until it started moving.

Akira fell on his ass as the truck shifted under him. He quickly flattened himself out on his stomach, army-crawling towards the front of the truck and grabbing onto the edge of the trailer. It was very ineffective, and Akira felt like his fingers were going to be torn off as the vehicle accelerated, but he didn’t exactly feel like he had any better options.

There was a loud screech as the truck took a sudden sharp turn, and the trailer tilted to the side, throwing Akira off. Panicking, he reached out, grabbing the handle of the cab’s passenger door before he could hit the street. Akira hung on for dear life as he dangled off the side of the truck, wondering if he should just take his chances and try rolling as he hit the ground. Thankfully, he never had to make the decision. The window opened on the door he was hanging onto and a hand reached out and grabbed his messy black tresses. Akira was painfully pulled into the truck, folded up in the passenger’s seat. Still, the rough treatment was better than the alternative.

“Thank you” Akira said as he straightened himself into a proper sitting position and buckled his seat belt. “I thought I was going to be a smear on the road.”

“Aye, but the night’s still young, lad!”

Akira looked over to his right, only to find himself wishing he were still hanging onto the side of the truck. Sitting in the driver’s seat was a man with long blonde-dyed hair and a skull roughly drawn on his face in blood and ash. He recognized him as Ryuji Sakamoto, the disgraced Naval officer who had been dishonorably discharged from the military and took up a life of crime as the terror of the Tokyo Bay. Also known as…

“Captain Skull!?”

“Ah, so ye’ve heard o’ me!” Captain Skull laughed. “’Tis always gratifyin’ t’meet a fan!”

“I-I’m a reporter. F-For the Maiasa Shi-Shimbun” Akira stammered. “I-it’s my job to know who you are.”

“Ah, so THAT’S what the camera’s fer!” Skull grinned maniacally. “Well, make sure ye get me good side! Not that I got a bad side, o’course!”

“You’re not gonna kill me?”

“Not if all goes right, lad!” Skull smirked at Akira. “I don’t usually tolerate stowaways, but seein’ as this ain’t a proper ship anyway, I figure I might as well use ye as a hostage fer me getaway!”

“So if you get away, I get to walk free?”

“That’s right! And I won’t even begrudge ye reportin’ on the experience, magnanimous soul that I am.”

“I see.” Akira snapped a picture of the piratical villain then pulled a tape recorder out of his bag. “In that case, would you be willing to answer a few questions?”

“I see no reason t’be denyin’ yer request.” Skull relaxed in his seat, slouching back and operating the truck’s steering wheel with one hand as they began to go over a bridge. “What do ye and yer readers wanna know about the glorious Cap'n Skull?”

“Well…” Akira pressed the record button. “First off, why ‘Captain Skull’? Your identity’s not exactly a secret. Why not ‘the dread pirate Sakamoto’ or something similar?”

“Well, a skull an’ a pirate, it just makes sense, don’t it? ’Tis whatcha call… what was it… ‘ironic’.”

“You mean ‘iconic’?”

“Aye! There’s the bit o’ vocabulary I was lookin’ fer! It ain’t like anyone else is usin’ the jolly roger in this era, so I figured, why not-“ Skull’s voice began to be drowned out by the sound of a motorcycle roaring. His eyes drifted to the rearview mirror to see a familiar short-haired superheroine coming up on him. “BY THE SIX TITS OF SATAN! NOT THAT WENCH AGAIN!”

Skull reached behind his seat and pulled out a rusty lead pipe. Akira immediately began snapping pictures. By his guess, the walking anachronism had found it near the crash site. Skull rolled down the window as the Phantom Queen pulled up next to him on her motorcycle and began flailing the pipe in her general direction.

“GET OUTTA HERE YA DAMNABLE LAND-WITCH! I DON’T NEED NO HARPY WITH A HULL ON HER FACE COMIN’ ABOARD!”

The Phantom Queen calmly hung just out of reach of the pipe, keeping pace with the truck on her motorcycle. During a particularly slow swing, she leaned in and grabbed the end of the pipe. After playing tug-of-war with Captain Skull for a moment, she pushed forward, smashing the end of the pipe into her opponent’s jaw.

“ARRGH!” Skull spit out a bit of blood. “PREPARED T’BE RAMMED, YE BREASTED BARNACLE!”

Skull turned the steering wheel, trying to crash the side of the truck into the Phantom Queen. She hit a button on her motorcycle, causing it to roar even louder and take off in a burst of sudden speed. As the motorcycle overcame the truck, narrowly dodging the attempted vehicular assault, the Phantom Queen did a backflip off of her mechanical steed, landing on the hood of the cab.

“Kurusu!?” Queen stared at the reporter in disbelief. “What are you doing here!?”

“Hi, Queenie!” Akira laughed nervously. “It’s a funny story, you see-“

Skull’s hand wrapped around Akira’s throat.

“Ye best be abandonin’ ship, lass! Or the newspaperman gets it!”

The windshield smashed beneath the Phantom Queen’s brass knuckles, her armored fist driving into the pirate’s face. He instantly lost grip on his hostage’s neck.

Before he could react, the Phantom Queen slid feet-first into the cab, her short steel-tipped heels ramming into her foe’s forehead.

Maneuvering herself between the reporter and the supervillain, the Phantom Queen slammed her foot on the brake pedal of the truck as the wannabe pirate tried to wipe away the blood trickling down into his eyes. The sudden stop caused his face to smash into the steering wheel. As Skull tried to groggily sit straight up again, Queen once more punched him in the face, knocking him out. She turned her head to the reporter in the passenger’s seat, the sides of their bodies already pressed against each other.

“Recklessly chasing headlines with complete disregard for your own safety again, Kurusu-San?”

“This time was a complete accident!” Akira’s heart began to race as he felt the heroine’s warmth against his own side. “I did not know this truck was being hijacked by a supervillain when I climbed on top of it!”

“And why exactly were you climbing trucks?”

“To get better pictures of an active disaster site.”

“Of course.” The Phantom Queen opened the driver’s side door and pushed the unconscious Captain Skull out of the truck, climbing out after him. She pulled out a couple zip-ties and bound his wrists to his ankles.

“Thank you for the rescue” Akira said as he slid out of the truck. “I don’t suppose I could trouble you for an interview?”

“Out on an open bridge?” The Phantom Queen pulled a small device out of her pocket and pressed a button on it. “Hardly an appropriate place, is it?”

“Well, if you’d prefer something more intimate, I know this little cafe in Yongen where they serve the best curry in the whole city.“ Akira raised his eyebrows twice. “My treat.”

“Have a good evening, Kurusu-San.” The Phantom Queen’s motorcycle pulled up to her. She climbed onto it. “I’d tell you to stay safe, but I doubt you’d take the advice.”

The Phantom Queen drove off before Akira could say anything else to her.

* * *

After a long night of talking to the police and typing up his article, Akira finally got back to his apartment building in Shibuya just as the sun was starting to rise. When the elevator reached his floor, the doors opened to revealed his next-door neighbor, Makoto Niijima. At the moment, she was putting a tie in her long brown hair, fixing it into a ponytail.

“Good morning, Akira-Kun!” Makoto looked at Akira curiously. “Are you just getting in?”

“Afraid so, Niijima-Senpai.” Akira yawned as he stepped off the elevator.

“Please, Akira-Kun. As I keep telling you, it’s been seven years since we were in high school together. You can address me by name, you know.”

“Right. Sorry, Makoto-San.” Akira scratched his head. “Old habits die hard. Especially when you’ve been working the graveyard shift.”

“Well, I hope you’ll be able to get some rest with the sun out already.”

“I should be able to. I’m kind of nocturnal now.” Akira chuckled weakly. “I didn’t realize you opened the dojo this early.”

“Well, it’s not all punches and kicks. There’s paperwork to take care of too, you know.” Makoto sighed. “Just one of the hassles of being a small business owner.”

“Well, I’ll let you get to it.” Akira walked down the hallway towards his apartment. “I’ve got a very important meeting with a mattress to get to.”

“Have a nice rest, Akira-Kun!” Makoto waved goodbye to her neighbor.

“Mmhm.” Akira gave a sloppy wave back as he turned the key and entered his apartment.


	2. Fight at the Museum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goro Akechi gets a new partner. The Phantom Queen gets in a fight with two of Tokyo's most prominent criminals.

Akechi walked into Commissioner Yoshida’s office.

“You wanted to see me, Comm-“

Standing in front of the commissioner’s desk was a woman with short blue hair in a black trench coat and gatsby hat.

“Good day, Goro-Kun.” Yoshida gestured to the young woman before him. “I’d like you to meet Naoto Shirogane.”

“A pleasure to meet you.” Naoto gave Akechi a slight bow.

“Oh, I’m familiar with the so-called ‘Inspector’ Shirogane.” It took all of Akechi’s self-control not to spit on the floor of his boss’s office. “The famous private investigator who spits in the faces of us REAL police.”

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken, Detective Akechi.” Naoto spoke in a calm, professional manner. “I have never made any statements that disrespect the police. On the contrary, the reason I have not joined the force myself is because I prefer to take my abilities where they are needed. Being restricted within a single police department’s jurisdiction would not allow me to do that.”

“Well, you’re not needed in Tokyo.” Akechi crossed his arms. “This isn’t Inaba. Our police force is actually worth a damn.”

“I respectfully disagree, Goro-Kun” Yoshida said. “Not about the quality of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, of course, but about Inspector Shirogane’s presence.” Yoshida shook his head sadly. “Tokyo is on the verge of a major crisis. Yesterday a truck containing four of the city’s worst criminals was attacked in Nerima. One of them was apprehended shortly afterwards, but the other three are still at large. These individuals are all arch-criminals who have evaded capture by everyone except a masked vigilante.”

“You mean the Phantom Queen” Naoto said.

“Yes, well…” Yoshida cleared his throat. “I personally hold nothing against the young lady, and I am glad that she prevented further catastrophe in those incidences. But we cannot rely on her forever. I would like to see the remaining villains brought in by law enforcement’s best and brightest, and that is you two.”

“She’s not even real law enforcement!” Akechi yelled.

“That’s enough of that, Detective!” Yoshida rose from his desk. “Shirogane-San was gracious enough to answer our call for help and you will treat her with the respect she deserves! I want you two putting your heads together on this, so quit acting like a spoiled child!”

“Yes, sir” Akechi said through gritted teeth. He turned around and stormed out of the office. “Let’s go, ‘partner’.”

“Commissioner.” Naoto tipped her hat to Yoshida, then followed Akechi out of the room.

“Let’s get one thing straight, Shirogane.” Akechi reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “This is my town, so I’m calling the shots on this investigation. You got it?”

“No objections here.” Naoto stuffed her hands into her coat pockets. “Would you care to begin staking out our enemies’ first target?”

“I’d love to, if we had any idea what it was.” Akechi removed a cigarette from the packet and pulled out his lighter.

“With Sakamoto in custody, that leaves three escapees: The infamous thief Ann ‘Panther’ Takamaki, the mad artist Yusuke ‘Da Vinci’ Kitagawa, and ‘King’ Suguru Kamoshida, the infamous sex trafficker. At least two of these individuals share a connection.”

“The pervert king wants to rail the thief?” Akechi’s lighter failed to produce flame, no matter how many times he flicked the wheel.

“Not quite.” Naoto pulled some matches out of her pocket and struck one, lighting Akechi’s cigarette. “But two of them do share a love of art.”

* * *

Swaying hips clad in red leather were the last things the museum’s security guard saw as he drifted off into unconsciousness. The last thing a security camera recorded was a kiss being blown to it before it was taken out by a whip.

The glamorous thief known as ‘Panther’ sauntered through the gallery. Currently, the museum had the privilege of hosting the works of Salvador Dali. With the museum’s entire security taken out, she took her time to peruse the pieces on display.

“Now then, which of you beauties is coming home with me tonight?” Panther traced a pink-gloved finger around the frame of _The Persistence of Memory._ “Melting clocks… I don’t think so.” She stood in front of _Voluptuous Death_ for a long moment. “Well, the girls are nice, but skulls aren’t really my thing.” Her eyes lingered on _Basket of Bread._ “Well, I don’t know how this is high art, but now I’m hungry. I could go for a crepe right now. Or some cake. Or-“

From the other side of the room, _Lobster Phone_ caught Panther’s eye.

“Seafood…”

Panther circled the display case, analyzing the piece from all angles.

“Hm… Not the most glamorous thing I’ve ever stolen, but there’s a certain charm to it.”

“You haven’t stolen it yet.”

Panther spun on her heels to see a lanky man dressed in black, a beret sitting on top of his blue-haired head and kabuki make-up painted all over his face. He had a rifle pointed at her.

“Oh, this is embarrassing” Panther said. “We’re both dressed for thievery. One of us should go home and change.”

“Indeed, it is something of a faux pas.” Da Vinci slowly approached Panther and the display case. “In the interest of chivalry, I would be willing to change my wardrobe. Just allow me to take the Lobster Phone and I shall be on my way.”

“Ooh…” Panther’s hand slid down to her waist, grabbing the handle of her whip. “I’m afraid I can’t agree to that, Da Vinci. You see, us cats, we just ADORE fish.”

“Philistine! Lobsters are not fish!” Da Vinci’s finger wrapped around the trigger of his rifle. “That magnificent invention belongs to me! It’s not as if someone with your gaudy aesthetic could properly appreciate the surrealism off it anyway.”

“‘Gaudy’!?” Panther sneered. “Have you SEEN your make-up!?”

“This is traditional!”

“That just means old!” Panther flicked her wrist, uncoiling her whip. “Just because something’s older doesn’t mean it’s better!”

“Yes, well…” Da Vinci pulled the trigger of his rifle. A blue paintball shot out and hit Panther’s whip right above the handle. The paint started to burn through the leather, causing the entire whip to fall off the handle. “You should have applied that school of thought to your armaments. Now kindly step away from that beautiful marriage of home appliance and crustacean.”

“That was a lucky shot!” Panther threw the useless whip handle on the ground. Razor-sharp claws popped out of the tips of her gloves. “You won’t get another!”

Panther charged at Da Vinci, ducking under a few rounds as he fired them. The butt of Da Vinci’s rifle stopped Panther’s claws from tearing open his stomach, and he fired a paintball point blank at her jaw.

Panther contorted backwards to dodge the shot, but not of her own volition. She was painfully yanked back by one of her pigtails, losing her balance and falling to the floor. As this went on, the other hand of her aggressive rescuer smashed a brass knuckle into the painted face of the rival criminal.

Panther moaned and looked up, seeing the Phantom Queen standing right above her.

“Oh, hey Phannie!” Panther waved at her savior who was also likely there to imprison her. “I didn’t know you were an art fan!”

“I must confess, I too am surprised.” Da Vinci spat out a loose tooth. “I didn’t think a violent savage such as yourself even knew what a museum was.”

“I’m not here for art” Queen said. “I’m here to bring you both to justice.”

“Yes, that’s more your niche.” Da Vinci pointed his gun at the Queen, but before he could fire, she delivered a pincer blow to the barrel. The metal of her brass knuckles caved in the sides, rendering the weapon nonfunctional. Da Vinci sighed at the ruined firearm in his hands and let it drop to the floor, drawing a katana.

Da Vinci attacked with rapid strokes, each of which the Queen was able to dodge or block with her knuckles. She held back, remaining on the defensive, waiting to find an opening in the disgruntled artist’s movements. The Queen sidestepped an overhead chop, seeing an opening for retaliation, but her counter attack never came. The rhythm of the battle was interrupted by the sudden tearing of claws in her back.

Although the Queen went down from the pain, she remained just focused enough to take advantage of the interruption to nail one of Da Vinci’s feet with a hammer blow. The attack forced him to drop his sword as he hopped up and down on one foot, trying to soothe his pain by futilely massaging his broken appendage with his hands. While the mad artist gracelessly bounced around, the Queen’s other assailant — the ungrateful Panther — rushed forward and clawed Da Vinci’s face, the blood flowing from his fresh wounds smearing his make-up. Panther made another swipe at Da Vinci, this time her claws aiming for his throat. Before she could make contact, there was a sudden loud cracking sound, followed immediately by Da Vinci howling in pain and falling over. Panther looked down to see the Phantom Queen still on the floor, her fist raised and arm outstretched, and Da Vinci’s leg broken into a shape legs are very much not supposed to be in.

The Phantom Queen looked up at Panther with the most terrifying look the thief had ever seen. The eyes behind the mask seemed to radiate pure malice, absolute rage at the woman who had clawed her in the back right after saving her life. Panther was paralyzed by fear just long enough to prevent her from reacting to the vigilante rising to her feet. By the time Panther had returned to her senses, it was too late. Queen’s head lunged forward and the metal plate on her face smashed into Panther’s face, demolishing her nose with a sickening crunch. The only reason Panther wasn’t shrieking in agony was due to the fist barreling into her gut and forcing all the air out of her lungs. Finally, as the world went dizzy and she felt like she was about to throw up, another fist slammed into her temple and everything went black.

Queen watched as Panther teetered for a second. Time seemed to slow as the blonde thief began to collapse. Queen wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was the adrenaline. She wasn’t ready to stop fighting just yet. Not until she saw Panther hit the ground and heard that satisfying “thud”. The sound of an opponent going down for the final time was the final bell for Queen, the signal for the end of the match.

Instead, she heard a loud bang. Followed by a clatter and the horrified wailing of Da Vinci from behind her. Queen turned around to see the artist propped up on one knee, his left hand wrapped around his right wrist and a bullet wound in his right hand. His katana lay in front of him, blood on the hilt. Queen looked to the source of the gunshot to see the famous private investigator Naoto Shirogane approaching, a smoking gun pointed at Da Vinci. Right behind her was a very perturbed Detective Goro Akechi.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?” Akechi grabbed Naoto’s wrist.

“He was going to stab her” Naoto said calmly, wrenching herself from Akechi’s grasp. “I stopped him without exerting lethal force.”

“I don’t give a damn about the artist!” Akechi pointed at Naoto’s pistol. “What the hell are you doing with that gun!? You’re not a real cop!”

“Commissioner Yoshida gave me special dispensation to carry a firearm so long as I’m working this case.” Naoto spun the gun in her hand coolly then trained it on Da Vinci again. “You don’t need to worry about any misfires. I’ve been trained in the use of firearms since I was a teenager.”

“My hand!” Da Vinci glared at Naoto, tears streaming from his eyes. “You shot my painting hand! I’ll never paint again!”

“Don’t be ridiculous” Naoto said. She grabbed Da Vinci’s wrists and handcuffed them behind his back. “I’ve read your file. You’re ambidextrous. You can paint just as well with your left hand as your right.”

“But the muses only work through my right arm” Da Vinci protested. “I cannot be expected to create with my LEFT hand! Are you mad!?”

“Holy shit, you couldn’t knock that one out too?” Akechi slapped cuffs on Panther and looked up at Queen, his hand “accidentally” brushing over the unconscious cat burglar’s rear for a long moment. Queen rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder at Naoto.

“I see you’ve made a new friend, Detective.”

“Hardly.” Akechi glowered at Naoto as he lifted Panther over his shoulder. “Yoshida wants to prove that we can catch these nutjobs without the help of some vigilante.”

“He explicitly said he doesn’t want my help?”

“Yeah.” Akechi chuckled and yelled at Naoto. “We’re really doing a bang-up job, ain’t we, ‘partner’?”

“Does this mean you have orders to apprehend me as well?”

“No” Naoto said. “I have been tasked with capturing the escaped convicts from the Nerima incident, as well as whoever is responsible for the incident in the first place. I believe attempting to arrest you would be exceeding the authority granted to me by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department.” Naoto’s brow furrowed. “That said, I do not personally approve of your methods, and-“

Naoto was cut off by the sounds of sirens from outside the museum.

“Oh hey,” Akechi said, “it’s the back-up we don’t need.”

“I’ll leave the rest to you, Detective.” Queen headed towards a hallway opposite of the museum’s entrance, giving a slight over-the-shoulder glance to Naoto. “We’ll have to continue this conversation another time, Inspector.”

* * *

Makoto grunted far louder than she meant to as her back hit the floor mat.

“Are you ok, Sensei!?” Shinya Oda stood over Makoto, his hand extended to her. She grabbed it and slowly rose from the floor.

“I’m fine, just a bit sore.” Makoto found her footing and let go of Shinya. “That sweep kick took me by surprise, Shinya-Kun. You’re definitely improving.”

“I appreciate the praise, Niijima-Sensei, but I’m not so sure.” The 19-year-old gave Makoto an uneasy look. “If you don’t mind my saying, you seem unwell. Are you ok?”

“It’s nothing.” Makoto rubbed her back. “I just pulled a back muscle moving some equipment, that’s all.”

“Are you sure you’re ok?” The concern did not disappear from Shinya’s face.

“It was a bit of carelessness. All I need is a few days and a couple of painkillers and I’ll be good as new, so don’t you worry about me.” Makoto threw a punch that stopped an inch from Shinya’s face. He had a delayed reaction in avoiding it, flinching backwards after the fist had already stopped. “Focus on yourself. The tournament is next week and your reactions are still too slow. Go home and get some rest. I don’t want to hear that you were up all night playing video games again.”

“Yes, Sensei.” Shinya headed for the door, putting on his shoes on the way out. He looked back at Makoto. “Are you sure you don’t need any help closing up? What with your back and all?”

“Go home, Shinya-Kun.” Makoto grinned at Shinya and flexed her arm. “I’m not too hurt to kick your butt down the street if I have to.”

“Yes, Sensei.” Shinya bowed and left the dojo. Makoto shook her head as her favorite student disappeared from view and headed for her office. It was about time to change her bandages. The cuts Panther left weren’t that deep, and had in fact already closed up. Still, Makoto wanted to keep treating them with disinfectant while they were still raw, just to be safe. She grabbed the first aid kit from her desk and headed to the bathroom. Makoto took off her shirt and slowly removed the bandages wrapped around her torso, cleaning up the damaged area and covering it with a small patch as opposed to a full wrap of gauze. She covered herself up and tossed the dirty wrappings in the bathroom trash can, then immediately took the whole garbage bag out of the trash can and tied it up. It was barely full, but Makoto had made a habit of disposing of anything related to her nighttime activities as quickly as possible. Donning her own shoes, she headed outside and tossed the trash bag into the dumpster in the alley next to her dojo.

“That’s not a lot of garbage.”

Makoto assumed a defensive stance as she turned to the alleyway’s entrance. Standing there staring her down was Naoto Shirogane.

“I hope you’ve been properly sorting your waste, Niijima-San.”

“Who are you!?” Makoto’s heart began racing. There was only one reason she could think of for this person to be here, and she really hoped she was wrong. “What do you want!?”

“I’m not here for a fight.” Naoto raised her hands in the air slowly. “To answer your first question, I am, as you doubtlessly know, the private investigator Naoto Shirogane. And as for my reason for being here…” Naoto lowered her hands and stared Makoto dead in the eye. “I’m here to continue our conversation, just like you said.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't dead and neither am I! Like I said, I've not had a ton of motivation to write P5 stuff lately, but I've had this chapter half-finished forever and wanted to get something up before Thanksgiving.
> 
> I'm hoping to return to more regular updates after the holiday, but promise nothing. Sorry for the long wait times. I can only write this stuff as fast as I'm motivated to, and that motivation has not been present for a while now.


	3. All-Star Team Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naoto and Makoto become acquainted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY GUYS REMEMBER THIS AU NEITHER DID I

Makoto and Naoto sat down in the dojo’s office. It was a very tense situation. Naoto hadn’t been the first person to learn the Phantom Queen’s secret identity, but the few others who had were people she knew and trusted. This was different. Makoto of course knew who Naoto Shirogane was. She was a brilliant investigator, a few years older than Makoto, but somebody whose exploits she had followed since she’d started making headlines. While Makoto was going through police academy, Naoto Shirogane was already cracking the toughest cases in Japan. She was the person the police called when they were stumped, a genius who inherited her role in society from her family and had been working towards it all her life. Makoto had always been a big fan of Naoto’s. She always imagined if they ever got to meet, it would be the happiest day of her life. Instead, it was an unsettling experience. And it wasn’t just because Naoto had figured out Makoto’s secret identity so quickly, or because Makoto didn’t know what Naoto wanted with her. The truly unsettling thing was that Makoto was giving Naoto the most terrifying glare she could muster, a look that had made corrupt cops, yakuza, and supervillains all shiver in their boots.

And Naoto was completely and totally unaffected.

“What do you want?” Makoto asked.

“There is no need to be so hostile” Naoto said. “I have not come here to expose you.”

“Good to know.” Makoto’s glare softened, but did not leave. Even though it wasn’t having the desired affect on the older investigator, it made Makoto feel a bit better. “So what do you want?”

“As I said, I’m here to continue our talk.” Naoto’s expression was neutral. Anybody else in her position would be incredibly smug, but she just kept calm and acting like nothing special was going on. “Is now a bad time?”

“How did you discover my identity?” Makoto leaned forward onto the desk. “Did you have me followed?”

“No.” Naoto shook her head. “Nor did I attempt to have a tracking device planted on your motorcycle or track you down with traffic cameras. I’ve read the police reports about attempts to discover your identity, so I know how footage gets scrambled and police bugs are rendered nonfunctional. I can’t imagine that you have the time to fight crime, teach martial arts, and hack into the police networks, so you must have an associate who’s very skilled with computers.”

Makoto said nothing.

“No response?” Naoto gave a slight smile. “Yes, well, I suppose you wouldn’t want to give up any information that could betray the identity of your accomplice. To answer your question, I deduced who you were shortly after the Phantom Queen’s first appearance.”

“And you sat on this information for three years?” Makoto raised an eyebrow. “There was a lot to be gained by exposing me. Seems everybody with money in Tokyo was offering a reward for information regarding my identity.”

“Most of those offers were suspect. In addition, it seemed a cruel thing to do, considering you had just lost your sister.”

Makoto’s glare finally broke. Anger fled her eyes, leaving sadness in its place.

“December 11th, 2013: Prosecutor Sae Niijima is murdered in her own home.” Naoto’s expression became grim. “December 12th, same year: Detective Makoto Niijima is put on suspension by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department after assaulting a superior officer who denied her request to work her sister’s case. December 13th: Three dozen low-level gang members are hospitalized in one night, all claiming to have been attacked by a woman with brass knuckles in a mask. December 20th: Detective Makoto Niijima formally resigns from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. December 24th: The yakuza hitman Kanta Iwasaki, AKA ‘the Cleaner’, is found beaten within an inch of his life, his home throughly damaged in the process. His broken body — which he was unable to move because the assailant left him paralyzed from the neck down — was wedged through a wall in his kitchen. When he was removed, this wall was found to contain a secret storage space with several years worth of documentation of his communications with various clients, including a recorded conversation with Diet member Masayoshi Shido requesting the assassination of the late Prosecutor Niijima. Shido is arrested, as are multiple associates of his also named in the Cleaner’s files.”

Makoto took a deep breath, trying to stop herself from causing a scene. Whether that would be breaking down into tears or starting a rampage, she wasn’t sure, but it was imperative that she remained calm in this situation.

“January 1st, 2014” Naoto continued. “Police receive a tip on the whereabouts of the infamous sex trafficker and former Olympian, ‘King’ Suguru Kamoshida. He’s found tied up and injured in a warehouse, along with a dozen associates. Leaked security footage of the warehouse shows a masked woman in a bizarre outfit brutalizing the King and his men, and the media starts calling her ‘the Phantom Queen’.” Naoto stopped to take a breath after her long history lesson. “The New Year’s incident combined with the arrest of Iwasaki and Shido and the events in the police force leading up to them all paint a clear picture.”

“It wasn’t that clear” Makoto mumbled. “I set up an alibi.”

“Yes, the ‘mental health retreat’ you went on in the wake of your sister’s death.” Naoto gave something very close to a smile, choosing to hold back considering the subject matter. “The police accepted that based simply on payment records, but given the previously mentioned feats of hacking you would display later in your career, I think anybody who would revisit that alibi now would find it questionable. Still, as I said before, I am not here to expose you.”

“So why are you here?” Makoto asked. “Did you just decide to stop by and gloat as long as you were in town?”

“Hardly.” Naoto returned to a serious expression. “I’m here to ask for your help finding Kamoshida.”

“Oh really now?” Makoto raised her eyebrow. “You want to work together?”

“Not as such.” Naoto shook her head. “Commissioner Yoshida wants his men to be the ones to bring in the escaped convicts. It’s true that as the Phantom Queen, you already brought down three of them, so that just leaves Kamoshida. And while I’m not technically an officer of the police department, I have been asked to aid them in this task, so my capturing him would be a victory for the police department as a whole.”

“So, you want my help, but you don’t want my help?”

“You brought down Kamoshida’s operation singlehandedly in the past. There was no official documentation of an investigation, no recorded interrogations or witness statements, just a ruckus, an unconscious criminal, and a conveniently-placed pile of evidence.” Naoto pulled out a pencil and notepad. “You have a familiarity with the man most don’t. I’m asking you to give me any leads I could use to find him in a proper investigation. You will, of course, remain a confidential informant in this matter.”

“Is that all?” Makoto smirked. “You do realize even if I do tell you what you want to know, I’m just going to go after him myself whether we agree to work together or not, right?”

“Yes.” Naoto nodded. “But the Phantom Queen only operates at night, and there are hours yet until sundown. If I can work with any lead you can give me in that time, I may just be able to collar our target before you’ve even put on your vigilante costume.”

“It’s not a costume.” Makoto crossed her arms. “It’s combat gear custom-designed for stealth and defense without sacrificing maneuverability.”

“It’s very theatrical.” Naoto tapped her pencil against her notepad. “Are you going to give me some information I can work with?”

“Kobayakawa.”

“Pardon me?”

“Kobayakawa. The principal of Shujin Academy.” Makoto cracked her knuckles. “He’s one of Kamoshida’s best customers. I got Kamoshida’s location out of him the last time I went after him. I was going to smack him around a little to see if the ‘King’ was back in business yet.”

“But if you used him as an informant last time, wouldn’t Kamoshida cut off all ties with him?”

“Kamoshida doesn’t know. The only person who knows how I beat the information out of Kobayakawa is me.” Makoto’s eyes narrowed. “And now, you.”

“I suppose I should be honored that you trust me with this information.”

“I don’t know if ‘trust’ is the word for it.” Makoto scowled. “I’m just hoping that if I help you here, you won’t decide to expose my identity later.”

“I’m not going to expose you.” Naoto took off her hat, holding it in both hands. “You have my word.”

“And why not?” Makoto leaned back, turning her nose up. “As I recall, you said you don’t approve of my methods. I can’t very well make you disappear without compromising everything I stand for, so why not just put an end to my work?”

“Because I can’t argue with your results.” Naoto put her hat back on. “Also because a friend of mine is a big fan of yours, and he’d never forgive me if I got you arrested.”

“You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t find that reason convincing.”

“The system is not perfect, Niijima-San. Even in small towns, the police overlook true villainy and harass innocents for trivial reasons. I do not like the idea of a vigilante working outside of the law, but if it ultimately accomplishes good, I will abide it.” Naoto stood up. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an investigation to continue.”

Makoto said nothing as the detective left her dojo.

* * *

It hadn’t been easy to get Kobayakawa to crack. While officially Naoto was working with the police, not actually being a police officer just didn’t afford her that certain authority that made the obstinate more accommodating. It would’ve been easier if Akechi had been with her— ‘Good Cop Bad Cop’ works much better with the presence of an actual bad cop, after all— but Naoto had been unable to reach him. Ultimately, Naoto had to resort to asking a bunch of rapid-fire questions so fast that Kobayakawa couldn’t take time to keep all of his lies consistent, eventually revealing that yes, Kamoshida had contacted him, and was in an abandoned warehouse down by the docks.

Naoto approached the docks, gun at the ready. She wasn’t going to try and bring Kamoshida in singlehandedly, this was just a reconnaissance mission. All she needed was to confirm Kamoshida’s location and see if he had armed men, then she could report back to Yoshida and the police could organize a raid.

Still, she’d feel a lot better about this situation if she had some back up.

_“This is Akechi. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you.”_

Naoto sighed as she hung up the phone. She’d left enough messages. Looking around, the warehouse only seemed to have a front door and a bunch of garage entrances, so Naoto wasn’t going to be able to get in. There wasn’t much that could give her any visibility either, just some windows that provided light along the center of the building, far out of Naoto’s reach.

What was in Naoto’s reach, however was a ladder. Not that she was going to try and climb up to the window and peek in. That would be a completely idiotic move, she’d be spotted immediately. However, there was a stack of shipping containers just a few meters away from the building, and the tops seemed to be about equal height with the windows…

Naoto walked around to the other side of the containers and propped up the ladder, climbing on top. She pulled out some compact binoculars from her jacket and looked into the window of the warehouse. It didn’t take long to find Kamoshida. Even if there were a bunch of other people inside, he’d stick out anyway with his large build, square jaw, and curly hair.

The other thing Naoto noticed sticking out was a saber’s blade poking out of his back, the other end of the sword pushing into the sex trafficker’s chest. And wrapped around the handle of the weapon was the gloved hand of a man all dressed in black, including a black mask. The wheels began turning in Naoto’s head.

_“A sword…”_ Naoto thought back to everything she’d read in preparation for the investigation. _“Wasn’t there a similar homicide on the night of the stabbing? Could this be related?”_

The man wiped the blood off of his blade with a black handkerchief, which he then began to place in a plastic bag. Naoto noticed some markings on the bag and zoomed in as far as her binoculars could go.

_“Is that a police evidence bag?”_

Naoto was disturbed. This wasn’t the first murder she had ever witnessed, but the bag had some unsettling implications. It would’ve been easy to obtain a normal plastic bag to carry away a bloody object, so having an official police evidence bag would have to mean that it was even easier to obtain that for the killer. Which meant the killer would have to have ready access to something like that, which meant they’d have to be a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. And then Naoto got one of her hunches, and a lump formed in her throat.

Once more, Naoto tried dialing the assigned partner she’d been unable to reach all day. As the phone rang, she could see the masked man pulling a cell phone out of his pocket. As he held it up to his head, the ringing stopped, and a familiar voice came out of Naoto’s phone’s speaker.

“Whaddya want, Shirogane!?”

The lump in Naoto’s throat grew bigger. She wasn’t sure what to say.

“Shirogane? You there!?”

“Ah, yes.” Naoto regained her cool and pocketed her binoculars, climbing down from the shipping crate. “My apologies. I was lost in thought.”

“Well what is it? I’m busy.”

“I believe I’ve found a lead on Suguru Kamoshida’s whereabouts.” Naoto started speed-walking over to the front entrance of the warehouse, drawing her pistol. She made sure to sound completely normal. “I’d like to meet with you and discuss our next step.”

“I wouldn’t worry about Kaomshida” Akechi said. “I doubt we’re gonna see him again.”

“What makes you say that?” Naoto scurried over to the corner just beyond the warehouse door, hiding behind it with her finger on the trigger, waiting for Akechi to come out.

“Kamoshida’s not like those masked nutjobs. He’s got nothing to prove by sticking around Tokyo. If I were him, I woulda fled the city already.”

“You may be right, but I still think we should do our due diligence as investigators and follow the thread as far as we can.”

“Alright, fine.” Akechi’s voice could be heard both on the phone and off of it as the door opened. Naoto immediately hung up and stuffed her phone in her pocket, putting her other hand on her pistol to stabilize her aim. “Let’s meet up. Where are you now?”

“Right here.”

Naoto turned the corner, pointing her gun at Akechi.

“Whoa!” Akechi threw his hands up in the air, raising the saber above his head. “Watch where you’re pointing that thing! You're not a real cop, you know!”

“Goro Akechi…” Naoto took a deep breath. “By the power granted to me by the police commissioner of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, I am placing you under arrest for the murder of Suguru Kamoshida and for suspicion of the murder of Munehisa Iwai. Drop the sword and surrender yourself peacefully.”

“Ok, ok.” Akechi remained still, his expression oddly calm. “You got me, Shirogane. Now let’s all calm down before unlicensed civilians accidentally kill a-“

“I said to drop the sword!” Naoto glared at Akechi. “I’m not playing games, Detective! Lose the weapon, get on your knees, and put your hands behind your back!”

“Alright, fine. I’m dropping the sword.”

Akechi did indeed drop the sword. Naoto’s eyes followed it as it left his hand and hit the ground with a loud CLANG.

And that moment’s distraction was all Akechi needed to draw his gun and fire.

Naoto just barely registered the motion and swiveled around the corner she ambushed Akechi from, dodging the shot. She heard a door closing and peeked around the corner to see that Akechi had retreated to inside the warehouse, the sword gone from the ground. Naoto tried following him in, but the door had already been locked. She tried ramming it a few times, but despite the warehouse’s age and state of disuse, the door was still sturdy enough to resist all the force a small adult woman could throw against it.

And then Naoto heard the sound of an engine and the honking of a horn. She turned around and saw the Phantom Queen barreling at her on her motorcycle. Naoto jumped out of the way as the vigilante used her vehicle as a battering ram, busting through the door. When the sound of the motorcycle’s engine died, Naoto entered the warehouse.

Now that she was inside, Naoto had a better view of the interior decor. From her position on the shipping crate, she didn’t have time to survey the warehouse before noticing the murder actively happening, but the environment Kamoshida’s corpse now lay in was not particularly attractive. It was like a twisted love motel, lots of pink lighting, ugly furniture everywhere, mannequins with threadbare outfits and pornographic posters strewn all over the place. It was a cluttered mess, probably some storage space turned into an emergency hideout for Kamoshida to live in while on the lam, and there were plenty of places for Akechi to hide inside. For the moment, though, Naoto decided to turn her attention to the woman who had just busted the door down with a motorcycle.

“What are you doing here!?” Naoto yelled.

“I followed you” the Phantom Queen said. “I decided to wait and see if you could actually make the collar you so desperately wanted, but once you failed, it was time to intervene.”

“Brag later” Naoto said. “I just learned my primary police contact is a murderer. He’s loose in here with a sword and his police-issue firearm.”

“That man in the mask is Akechi!?” Queen looked at Naoto in surprise.

“Yes.” Naoto pointed to Kamoshida’s corpse. “And he just killed Suguru Kamoshida.”

“What!?”

The Queen’s shout of disbelief was drowned out by a gunshot. The Queen instinctually tackled Naoto, bringing them both to the ground, a bullet finding purchase in the spot where the famous detective had just been standing.

“You shouldn’t be here, Queenie!” Akechi’s voice came from the second-level balcony. “Neither of you should be! This situation doesn’t have to get ugly!”

“You just tried to kill me!” Naoto pushed Queen off of her and rose to her feet. “Twice!”

“Hey, it’s nothing personal!” Akechi’s movements could be heard above, but the sounds echoed all throughout the warehouse. “Let’s just all take a deep breath and calm down and then we can walk outta here all civil-like!”

“You’ve committed a murder.” Naoto moved towards one of the two staircases leading to the next level. Queen followed her lead and moved towards the other, both of them ducking behind furniture and mannequins along the way. “Possibly two. I can’t let you go, Detective.”

“Your job's not to catch any criminals you see” Akechi replied. “It’s to catch four specific criminals. And they’re all off the board now.”

“I’m not so sure about that.” Naoto began climbing the stairs, her eyes scanning the balcony. “I was asked to help track down the escaped criminals AND whoever set them free. And I think you may just be the latter party.”

There was no response. Naoto continued.

“Phantom Queen,” Naoto said, “tell me, was there not recently another sword-related homicide in this city?”

“You mean Munehisa Iwai” Queen said. “The ex-yakuza and alleged arms dealer.”

“Exactly.” Naoto reached the top of the stairs. “And was Iwai not found dead on the very night of the convoy explosion?”

“I see.” Queen reached the top of the stairs and slowly moved forward, looking for Akechi. “You think Iwai sold the weapon used to knock over the prison transport and was killed to tie up loose ends.”

“What does any of it matter?” Akechi’s voice was closer. “I’m not the bad guy here! Kamoshida was a parasite, and the world’ll be better for his absence!”

“That’s not your call to make” Naoto said. “You’ve sworn to uphold the law, not take it into your own hands.”

“The law is crap” Akechi said. “Just ask our friend here. I spent months trying to dig up enough info to get a warrant to take in ‘King’ Kamoshida, and then some broad in a catsuit throws a few punches and that gives us all the probable cause we need to bust into his place and find everything we need to put him away.”

“I see.” Naoto’s eyes darted to the Queen sneaking around the opposite side of the floor. “So you killed Kamoshida to emulate the Phantom Queen.”

“I killed Kamoshida because he was scum. Queenie’s got nothing to do with it.” Akechi popped up behind Naoto and grabbed her wrist, causing her to drop her gun. Naoto tried to execute a shoulder-throw to lose him, but Akechi countered the move and twisted her arm behind her back, using his free hand to bring his sword up against her neck. “And neither do you. If you’d just seen that earlier you wouldn’t be in this position now.”

“Let her go!” Queen yelled.

“Nothing doing, Queenie!” Akechi’s tone was cocky as ever, but it was clear from his expression that he was not enjoying the situation he was in. “This whole thing’s gone to shit! It’s too late for Little Miss Pretend Detective! Gonna have to make it look like she went off on her own trying to play police and got herself killed by the same mysterious assailant as Kamoshida! But you and me can keep that same sterling partnership we’ve enjoyed for a while now! What do you say!?”

The Phantom Queen stood silently, staring at Akechi and Naoto. She stared Naoto in the eyes.

“I’m sorry, Inspector Shirogane.”

“What!?” For the first time since this whole ordeal started, fear appeared on Naoto’s face. “You can’t be serious!”

“You don’t know her as well as I do!” Akechi laughed. “See, this is why me and Queenie work so well together! She’s a realist! She sees what’s needed in this city and gets it done, no matter how rough it is!”

“That’s right.” The Queen reached up to her mask and pressed down on the stud under her left eye. “I do.”

A beep came down from the motorcycle on the first floor. It turned slightly and a small circular door opened near the back, facing directly towards where Akechi and Naoto were standing. It shot out a cylinder which landed near the two investigators, and then proceeded to release tear gas.

“SON OF A BITCH!” Akechi dropped his sword and reared back, coughing and covering his eyes. Naoto started coughing too, but fought through the stinging in her eyes and, even with her vision blurred, found her pistol on the ground. She picked it up and swung wildly behind her, pistol-whipping Akechi in the face before running off towards Queen.

Queen ran forward and grabbed Naoto before the half-blind woman could accidentally send herself tumbling over the balcony’s railing. She watched as Akechi ran in the other direction from the cloud and fell down the stairs, screaming in pain as he made his injurious descent. The Queen calmly led Naoto down the stairs, handing the shorter woman some eyedrops when they reached the bottom. While Naoto tended to her corneas, the Queen grabbed Akechi by the collar and pulled him to his feet, pinning him against the wall.

“GOD DAMN IT!” Akechi growled at Queen. “Can’t you be a little more gentle!? Was fucking teargassing me not enough!?”

“I can make your evening far worse.” The Queen reared back her fist. “Give me a reason not to break your jaw.”

“Because I can’t very well question him if you do that.” Naoto walked towards Akechi and Queen, blinking rapidly. Her movements were slow and her eyes were red, but she seemed to be able to focus on the situation. “There’s still a few pieces missing to this puzzle.”

“She’s right, you know.” Akechi grinned. “I’ve got all kinds of fun secrets to share if I can walk out of here with my winning smile in tact.”

“Here’s what I’ve put together so far” Naoto said. “The police were working with the theory that the prison transport was attacked to free the inmates, but I think we can safely say that’s not the case.” Naoto looked towards Kamoshida’s dead body. “Detective Akechi had been targeting Suguru Kamoshida this whole time, and purchased an explosive weapon from Munehisa Iwai to try and kill him. He killed Iwai to silence him, and when the explosion failed to kill Kamoshida, hunted him down to finish the job.”

“There’s two problems with that theory” Queen said.

“I’m aware.” Naoto squeezed a few more drops into her eyes. “Firstly is the motive. Some may consider Kamoshida to be the ‘one who got away’ from Detective Akechi thanks to you, but he’s never taken issue with your methods before, so a grudge is doubtful.”

“Hey, you don’t know that for sure” Akechi said. “Maybe I’ve secretly hated Queenie this whole time!”

“You’re not that good an actor” Naoto said.

“Not to mention the fact that you and I were together when the attack on the transport vehicle happened” Queen said.

“Which means that you have an accomplice” Naoto said. “And from your continued cavalier attitude in this situation, I’ll bet you’re willing to give them up for a reduced sentence.”

“Bingo!” Akechi winked. “But not here. Neither of you two got the authority to make a plea bargain.”

“Tt.” Naoto shook her head and took out her phone. “ _Now_ he cares about the law.”

“I just don’t understand it.” Queen let go of Akechi, letting him fall to the floor. “Why’d you do it, Detective? I’d be lying if I said I thought of you as an admirable man, but I always thought you were a fine police officer.”

“This city needs a deep cleaning” Akechi said. “Me and the lady agreed on that.”

“‘The lady’?”

“Oops.” Akechi’s smile vanished. “Forget I said that. Don’t wanna play my trump card too earl-“

BANG.

A window on the other side of the warehouse shattered. The Phantom Queen looked back to the source of the shot, then to Akechi. There was a hole in his head, and blood was splattered on the wall he was leaning against. And as the Phantom Queen tried to process this…

BANG.

A scream.

A thud.

Queen turned to where Naoto had been standing. She was lying on the floor, blood starting to pool out of her, a bullet hole in her back.

“INSPECTOR SHIROGANE!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In all seriousness, I've actually had the first fourth of this written for months. But then I didn't continue for a number of reasons, including uncertainty in my plan (this is one of the few fics I've actually writen an outline for), lack of motivation, and just deciding this fic was low priority compared to the Evil Queen, my vastly more popular AU (which I also neglect for long periods of time for entirely different reasons).
> 
> Anyway, gonna try to make it more than the passing of two seasons before I update this again. Hopefully next chapter'll be last.
> 
> And no I don't expect the main villain to surprise anybody, just indulge me and enjoy the ride.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, Makoto Niijima Week is trailing a bit longer than I planned. I wanted to get this story done all at once, but it was looking to be a bit long, so I decided to split it into more manageable chapters. There should be three or four installments. After that's done, I'm moving in a week, so I gotta take care of that. But I'll finally be returning to the "Evil Queen" AU next month.


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